A Closer look at the National Development Policy

The South African socio-economic context is unique. While in possession of a material resource base that is the envy of most global economies, South Africa is still plagued by the legacy of apartheid- inequality, unemployment and poverty.

The socio-economic challenges South Africa faces are relatively easy to quantify.

According to Statistics SA, unemployment in South Africa rose to 25.2% in the first quarter of 2013. Advocacy-Aid estimates that 26.3% of the population live below the food poverty line.

To add insult to an already festering injury, the South African education system was ranked by the World Economic Forum as 140th out of the 144 ranked countries. It is abundantly clear that a cogent, literate strategy to combat these issues is needed. According to the Minister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel, the National Development Plan seeks to formulate and implement this plan, providing structure and direction for the country’s economic growth. In essence, the National Development Plan is a policy framework implemented with the ultimate goal of reducing poverty and inequality in South Africa by 2030.

Job creation, equitable resource distribution and improved education are the main target areas the policy will actively seek to address. Indeed, one of the more oft-quoted goals of this ambitious undertaking is to reduce unemployment to 6%, which would involve the creation of an estimated 11 million jobs within the stated time period. One of the criticisms of government’s past efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment has been the lack of integrated action between relevant stakeholders.

The NDP aims to address these failures by actively seeking to engage both civil and governmental structures in the implementation of the long and medium term goals of poverty alleviation. According to a media briefing by Ministers Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane, building consensus on the key obstacles to the realisation of these goals, and then providing a, ‘shared long-term strategic framework,’ within which these goals can be achieved is the main objective of the policy. The NDP specifically identifies key areas that must be addressed: -Housing, water, electricity and sanitation -Safe and reliable public transport -Quality education and skills development -Safety and Security -Quality health care -Social Protection -Employment -Recreation and leisure -Clean environment -Adequate nutrition Although policy formulation is spearheaded by the National Commission, it is clear that local government and private enterprise must be fully engaged if meeting NDP targets is to be achieved.

While all sectors applaud the scope and ambition of the NDP, certain aspects of the plan have come under criticism. Most notable of which perhaps, is the charge that the mass-creation of jobs as laid out in the NDP policy paper will consist mostly of low-value, unsustainable employment situations. Furthermore, as Neil Coleman of the Daily Maverick opines, with the NDP placing a huge emphasis on growing the SMME sector of the economy, the plan’s expectations of creating an estimated 9,9million SMME jobs are unlikely to be fulfilled. ‘If the plan is followed, it is highly likely that many of these jobs won’t materialise, and those that do materialise, will mostly be of low-quality. The plan concedes that it is based on the creation, particularly in the first ten years, of low-paying jobs as opposed to decent work…of the 11 million jobs envisaged by the NDP, nearly two thirds will come from services and the informal sector…’ The ANC’s alliance partner, the Congress of South African Trade Unions { COSATU}, has also gone on record, criticising the NDP’s reliance on employment generated by the SMME sector as inadequate. Indeed it is difficult to see how the NDP dovetails with recent policy initiatives such as the Industrial Policy Action Plan.